MillenniumPost
Nation

Congress' Haryana candidates' list has 'some tainted' faces, says BJP leader Anil Vij

Congress Haryana candidates list has some tainted faces, says BJP leader Anil Vij
X

Chandigarh: The Congress' first list of 32 candidates for the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections has some "tainted" faces and people know that giving power in their hands "can be very dangerous", senior BJP leader Anil Vij claimed on Sunday.

The 71-year-old also expressed confidence that the BJP would return to govern Haryana with a full majority.

The six-time MLA and former minister said he went through the Congress list, released on Friday, and added, "It includes some tainted faces".

"And people know that giving power in the hands of such people can be very dangerous," the Ambala Cantonment MLA said.

The Congress has renominated all 28 incumbent MLAs.

Vij said, "One of them (in the Congress list) -- Surender Panwar -- the MLA from Sonipat, is in jail after his arrest by the ED."

Panwar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in July in an illegal mining-linked money-laundering case.

"Panwar is not the only 'daagi (tainted)' in the list. Even Bhupinder Singh Hooda (renominated from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi) is facing cases. Their (Ferozepur Jhirkha) MLA Mamman Khan faces a case in connection with the Nuh violence," the BJP leader alleged.

Khan was arrested last year and subsequently released on bail.

"Another Congress MLA, from Samalkha, Dharam Singh Chhoker, to whom they have again given a ticket, faces an ED case… This is the Congress' face," Vij said.

He also attacked the Congress on farmers' issues.

The Congress claims to be pro-farmer "but it was during its rule when farmers used to be served acquisition notices, their lands acquired for peanuts and then handed over to builders," Vij alleged.

"I meet many farmers and they say they used to live in a state of fright, not knowing when their land would be snatched," he claimed.

"There is a difference between what it says and what it does. We are saying what it did to farmers, all of that is documented," Vij said.

Asked about the Congress' claims of the BJP being "anti-farmer", the former minister quipped, "It is its propaganda. People don't believe it."

Meanwhile, the former minister said the BJP would return to power with a full majority.

"We will form our government with a full majority," he told PTI.

Asked about his assessment of the BJP going into the polls, Vij said the elections would be a "direct contest between the main parties".

Speaking on the impact of other parties, including the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), he said, "The regional parties are nearly finished. The contest is among the main parties."

He also dismissed AAP's prospects in the state.

Referring to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Vij said, "Unka deepak toh Delhi mein bujh gaya aur bujhe hue deepak se naya deepak jalaya nahi ja sakta (His flame has burnt out in Delhi and he cannot prop up the party in Haryana)."

Kejriwal is currently in jail in connection with the excise policy case.

Meanwhile, Vij said about his own campaign in Ambala Cantonment, "I am going to contest my seventh election. My campaign is run by the people, as it always has been."

Referring to Ambala, Vij -- a former minister who handled several portfolios in the BJP government -- said a comprehensive array of development projects were established in Ambala Cantonment, "featuring a grand martyrdom memorial dedicated to the heroes of 1857 -- the first war of Independence".

Other facilities include a new hospital and a cancer facility, an international-level football stadium, all-weather swimming pool, gymnastics hall, government college, bus stand, mini secretariat, and a multi-level car park, he said.

"Ambala had slipped into a dark zone (for groundwater depletion). I ensured it got canal water, a new 'anaj mandi (vegetable market)' came up, a science centre is coming up, we are building a bank square complex, fire brigade building and homoeopathic college," he said.

A beautiful park named after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose came up three years ago, he said.

Construction of the domestic airport is progressing rapidly and it will boost trade, Vij said.

"The Ambala-Saha road was four-lane, I got a ring road made in Ambala while alternative roads from Ambala via Shamli and another one from Ambala to Poanta Sahib are coming up," he said.

"There is no mohalla or village where development has not reached," Vij said and added, "My slogan has always been 'Kaam Kiya hai, kaam karenge'."

Polling for the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 5 and the votes counted on October 8.

Next Story
Share it